In the Shadow of my Memories
by Ark12
Summary: When the memories of a life once lived are broken they can never be sewn back into their original state.
1. Eccentric

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**A note to the reader**: An itch that needed scratching, this little nugget of writing is something that's been on my mind for a while (as in couple of years). My other work(s) are still in progress—in varying stages—this just happens to be something I needed to get down on paper (word) and out into the world.

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**In the Shadow of My Memories**

Chapter I

_Eccentric_

"Where to now," he sighed in to a frigid gust of winter win, the tendrils of which ran rampant against his exposed skin dashing daggers and causing him to shrug his shoulders high and pull at the collar of his coat covering the flesh of his neck. His free hand rifled through his pocket, fiddling with a small piece of crumpled paper before steadily unraveling the note to examine the scribbled directions for what could only be counted as the umpteenth time.

"Up this road and take a left," he said to himself as he shouldered his drab green duffel bag, laying it snuggly across the small of his back before he continued to press on, trailing the worn path of roads and sidewalks to his destination. His pace was leisurely yet almost urgent in a deceptive manner as he took his time to drink and breathe in the sights and sounds. Yet he would stop to enjoy neither; with a dogged determination he'd maintained his course stopping only on occasion to look down at the worn piece of paper to make sure he was still headed in the right direction.

And it went on like this for longer then he cared for.

Time passed him by at a lighting paced crawl, an oxymoron mind you, as he found himself enraptured along a rigid line of broken imaged memories. He felt himself on the edge of remembrance; so close yet so far from his mental reach as the unfamiliar roads of a life he was told he once lived passed him by. It was a strangely familiar building here or a conservative hovel there that drew within him a deepening sense of unfounded nostalgia. Eliciting feelings within him yet bringing about nothing of substance in the way of a clue or memory.

He'd become a stranger in a strange land and yet this strange land was home. A cruel fate, it seemed, was the only true constant in his life. The one demon he could neither bury nor escape.

He sighed once more as he brought his hand to his head and slowly began to massage his temples. A terrible habit; he was sure he'd bore dents in the side of his skull by now. "I don't think this is the right way either," he groaned as he took sight of the intersection ahead of him looking to his left and gazing down the crowded road way before slowly turning and staring to his right; looking, hoping, willing himself to think of something, to remember anything.

Yet his persistence was in vain as nothing appeared and nothing came to mind. Neither sound nor picture or even the faintest inkling of a hint as to where he was exactly or where he was going came to him no matter how hard he wished for it to happen…

He could remember nothing…

He plopped down on the nearest bus stop bench, idly tossing his duffel on the ground as he stretched his legs out from under him and leaned back to stare at the cloudless winter sky above him.

"What am I doing here," he sighed as he closed his eyes to gather himself. He opened them after a moment of inner silence, gazing above at the waxen sky above. Cloudless; like a sheet, taut and clean, he eyed the heavens with no small amount of trepidation and hope before closing his eyes once more and sending up a silent plea.

_God…if there is a God…send me a sign…a memory…a signal…something…_

And then he waited a moment…

And then a minute went by…

Then five more…

Then five turned into ten, and then ten. It was well into the twentieth minute did he finally surrender as his awaited epiphany failed to stage itself. He let loose another sigh, dully noting the presence of another person sitting opposite him on the bench as he contemplated his next move. Had he truly believed that his divine intervention would come he most assuredly have felt the familiar pang of disappoint he'd been feeling…well, for a _long_ time now as a melancholy smile stitched its way across his lips.

"You seem troubled friend," a tender, feminine voice queried next to him startling him enough from his quiet contemplation but not enough so to get him to open his eyes.

He hesitated a moment, as if weighing his option to speak or not. Yet the answer was obvious as he spoke, wishing not to be rude but not at all in the mood for conversation, "More so then I could explain uh…_friend_," he finished awkwardly as he kept his head lulled back.

_Well that was uncomfortable, _he mused with an internal chuckle.

A moment of silence passed between them before he finally stood.

"Well then," he responded as he sat up, stretching his arms overhead before letting out a large exhale and turning to look at his bus stop confidant for the first time.

He was rather shocked; sitting next to him was the most elegant woman—he was most sure of—that he'd ever seen in his life. Slightly taller then himself the woman had the most refined beauty he'd ever hope to lay eyes on. Her elegant and angular features were outlined beneath the supple ivory toned skin as her ebon black hair fell in uniform around her, adorning her face and framing her almost ethereal beauty in noble fashion.

Yet perhaps it was beyond that which he saw that caught his attention the most. Her attire, a formal white and red _Hakama_, was crisp and in order fitted formally on her as was the straw woven _Kasa_ hat on her lapbut aside from her rather peculiar appearance. She was beautiful…stunningly so, he commented internally as time seemed to slow down around him the more he focused on her smiling face. Yet something seemed decidedly…_off_ about her. Strange perhaps rather then off, in a peculiarly good way.

_Eccentric…I think would be the best term to describe the residents…_ His eyes widened before his hands immediately went to his head. Lightning quick he clasped them over his ears to block out the noise of the surrounding world as he dialed himself to focus on the warm intone of that woman…_no_…

_Grandmother_ he chided gently as he strained to quiet his mind and listen. Images had failed to manifest themselves clearly, leaving behind only the momentary frazzled kaleidoscope of colored memories. He couldn't quite make out pictures, faces, or a definite place for that matter, but the sudden flood of warmth into his person all but made up for the lack of mental imagery as a peace he was sure he'd never felt in all his life had seemingly descended on him out of nowhere.

It wasn't much to go on, but for now…for now this would do as his mind mentally replayed the blurred image and the gentle sound of her caring voice over and over again. He shook his as the tiniest of smiles serenely etched its way onto his lips.

_So she was telling the truth…I should have known…no…I think I knew all along…_

"…ir…s…ir…si…Sir," a rather desperate voice now penetrated his mind shaking him from his internal reverie. He stepped back as the hustle and bustle of the real world once more came to the forefront of his mind.

He whipped himself around, still half dazed by the sudden intrusion a lost memory into his mind as he took in the sight of the woman on the bench. Not recognizing her at first before the realization dawned on him on where he was and what he'd been doing just prior.

He blushed as he began to scratch the back of his head nervously…

"Are you alright? You seemed to have zoned out there for a second," she asked a slight up tick in her features indicating any sort of concern she may have felt at his sudden lapse out of reality.

"Ah, yes…yes I'm quite well, thank you! I uh…just remembered something I'd forgotten," he smiled as the authoritative yet docile tone of his grandmother's voice came back to him once more…

_Eccentric…_she seemed to remind as he gave his bus stop confidant a once over, _she seems to fit the bill, _he surmised, _what the hell…_

"Actually ma'am, if you don't mind, could I bother you with a question," his sudden lack of self control becoming readily apparent in his hurried speech.

The woman before him smiled serenely nodding as she spoke, "sure! I don't mind, ask away."

He chuckled nervously as his hand once more dug into his pockets, bringing out the scribbled directions and handing it to her. "I'm looking for the Hinata Inn or what was once known as the Inn," he began as she took the handed paper, "but I can't, for the life of me find it even with directions," he chuckled.

"Really now, Hinata Inn you say?"

"Yes ma'am or I believe it's a dormitory of sorts now," he wondered aloud as he held his chin in his hands, his brow furrowing as he began to lose himself once again to his own train of thought, "yes I think she said dormitory now that I think about it."

"That would be correct but it's an all girls dormitory, if I'm not mistaken sir. If I may ask what business you would have there," the woman queried as she stood from her place on the bench. Her face remained as neutral as her voice as she eyed him with a well concealed veil of mistrust.

His eyes drew a bead one the sky as he redirected his sights to them. Their once vibrant shine taking on a glazed hue as the cheer in his smile seemed to switch with the solemn air that now surrounded his person. The woman picked up on the drastic change in character immediately as she listened, "to meet family," his hands shifted in his pockets, "I was also told I was a shareholder on the property deed as well as the manager before." He paused momentarily contemplating his next set of words before speaking again," well before I _left_ if you can believe that."

A rather tense moment of silence began between them the moment he finished. He knelt to grab his bag, sensing that his story, in spite of its truth, seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as he grabbed his duffel.

"Look I'm sorry about the trouble; I know it's probably not the most believable story but I-."

"I'd be glad to help," the woman piped her demeanor brightening to an almost impossible level.

"You…come again," momentarily deafened and stunned by the change in her character he was sure he'd misheard her before…

"I said I'd be glad to help you! In fact my sister is a tenant at the inn," he smiled brightly as she stood up herself, "and your relative is?"

"Ah my Aunt," he replied quickly as he scratched the back of my head, "I believe she ran a tea shop and is acting as my stand in."

"My now, how fortunate it is that we've bumped into each other then," the woman smiled at him holding a hand to her mouth in a demure manner as she laughed lightly.

"Ahaha…yea," he started; the situation had thrown a bit of a wrench into his somber mood as he found the woman's sudden outburst of joy a rather refreshing relief.

"Well then friend, shall we?"

"Uh yes, please lead the way um…Mrs…?"

"Aoyama, Tsuruko Aoyama, she finished as she gave him a sincere smile.

"Aoyama-san," he rolled the name around in his head. It felt familiar and yet….

"And whom may I ask is it that I am traveling with?"

"Ah," he snapped from his mental pondering. "Forgive my rudeness," he apologized as he smiled shyly, "Urashima," he began, "Urashima Keitaro."

"Well then Urashima-san, shall we," she smiled, an infectious trait of hers that mirroed itself on his own visage.

"Lets."

_I owe you one God..._

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_a/n:_

So chapter 1 finished! Everyone raise your fist in the air and scream "o"! But in all seriousness this work is definitely AU in nature. While events in canon will come into play this story is fictionalized in an AU-verse where I can adapt the story to fit my needs! What's happened? Well you'll just have to wait and see! Chapter lengths probably will vary but they'll be pretty short so don't expect pages and thousands upon thousands of words.

To my Naruto fans (the few that there are) Here am I is still in production and this story does not hinder its progress. C4 will be released in due time. Fear not for its not writer's block or life (to a point) but merely procrastination and editing problems.

I am my own BETA so please dissect with care. This was rushed so expect thorough yet infrequent edits.

**-Ark12-**


	2. Confrontation

Chapter 2

_Confrontation_

There was a small hovel located just at the foot of One Hinata Street. The homely little stand was one of many edifices seemingly forgotten by the passage of time along the dried cobble stone path. The atmosphere inside was quaint; quiet and simple in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the downtown area just a ways outside. Its patrons were on the mellower side of their own emotions; not necessarily lazy but calmer, more relaxed then the tightly wound people of the city world. Appearance and fashion, trends and celebrity all of them mere trivialities to the people who found themselves biding their time in the warm rustic walls of the tea shop at the base of the Hinata House.

Urashima Haruka had to pat herself on the back. She'd done well in her own opinion—and in those of her customers—in developing this little shop into a haven befit for all to come and unwind. To experience a world where time stood still and the only matters that mattered were none at all.

She took the last drag on her cigarette as she sat on the bench just outside her small plot of heaven on earth. The gentle heat of the late noon sun was a warm contrast to the chilled winter air providing a soothing contrast as she enjoyed her post noon break in common fashion. She smothered the end of her smoke in the ash tray, just atop the trash can, as she stood expelling the residue of her addiction in one noxious exhale before heading inside.

The post lunch rush was as dull a time at her tea shop as it was anywhere else in the world. Aside from the occasional customer, tourist, or visitor, the pace of work seemingly stopped altogether. She'd come to the conclusion to start shutting down between the lull in traffic that separated the midday crowd with the evening patrons. A subtle move and one that had its probable financial losses but one she could afford to make.

She wasn't in a bind for cash, a rarity in this day and age, and something she didn't take for granted. Even her own nephew, in spite of his steady job as the manager of the dormitory, wasn't as well off as she was now or even back then before he'd decided to leave.

_Keitaro, _she mused silently as she absent mindedly began to meander off into the menial chores of maintenance. Being the sole provider at the moment for the shop had its perks but also had its drawbacks, especially when it came to the day to day busy work. Yet today seemed…different, and the work seemed less a bother and more of a release for her sudden bout of moodiness.

It'd been a while since she'd thought about Keitaro. Having been almost a year since she—or any of the girls for that matter—had last heard from their innately clumsy, but all too loveable, (a closely guarded secret) nephew. It seemed as if her cycle of emotions had finally come full circle.

That or she was approaching her_ special time _of the month.

The tiny bell above the entrance door chimed gently breaking her from her thoughts. She continued sweeping the floor in spite of it all the while contemplating finally getting around to putting up a _closed till six _sign and where she would place it.

Maybe she'd start locking the door as well…

"Excuse me; pardon the intrusion," a strange male voice called out from the entry way. Strange though in that it almost sounded like…

But that was impossible…

"Sorry but we're closed now. Open again promptly at six though for dinner or if you wish to come back tomorrow we open at eight and remain till two in the afternoon," Haruka announced, albeit a bit impolitely, as she refrained from turning around to face any guests. It seemed her mind and emotions were playing tricks on her. She frowned internally.

"That's alright I was just wondering if perhaps I could ask you a question about someone," that all too familiar sounding voice sung out to her.

But it couldn't be his voice.

_No,_Haruka reasoned. It may have sounded familiar but she knew Keitaro as well as anyone save his mother. She'd known him from birth and heard him speak longer then she could possibly imagine in that all too cheerful pitch of his one too many times to mistake it. There was no way this voice, this familiar timbre, was his. It was too…hollow…somber…and oh so very…

…_sad…_

"Shoot," she responded, "but no there's guarantee I'll know 'em."

"That's okay I think you'll know her," Haruka's interest was immediately piqued as she moved to set the broom against one of the tables, "you see I'm looking for a Urashima Haruka," he finished.

Haruka's body seized up, her eyes widening slightly as the gears in her head started to turn; connecting the dots she'd been trying not to connect before that voice finally connected them for her…

"She's my aunt and owns this shop apparently... I was hoping to speak with her."

The final line had been finished, the last x crossed, as a zing of nervous energy shot up her spine at the revelation. Haruka began to turn slowly, trying her best to prep herself for what was to come before she finally took in the sight of that which had traipsed back into her life so suddenly, as it often times ended up doing time and time again, stood before her…

A changed man…

Their eyes locked yet they seemed to miss each other. The way he looked at her…it was as if she was no different then any other stranger off the street.

He offered her a smile; small shy and a bit bashful as if he may have done something wrong…

"Kei-Keitaro," she hesitantly spoke after a rather awkward pause. Her voice was true to her emotions, hesitant and unsure, as she eyed this strange young man before her…It couldn't be him…this…_man_…this shell of a man was not the bubbly young youth that had left Hinata not that long ago…

"Haruka-san," he asked.

He'd asked…Haruka felt the proverbial lead weight of depression form in the pit of her stomach at the sound of her own name. He didn't recognize her. She was positive she hadn't changed that much, at least not as much as him. Sure she'd let her hair grow just a bit longer then usual and she did age just like everyone else but she was a borderline zealot when it came to looking after her appearance, and yet he looked at her and she knew he didn't know who Haruka Urashima was. His voice, the way he'd asked that simple question by simply mouthing her name with an upward inflection.

He truly had no idea who she was…

"Keitaro, is that…is that really you?"

His hand reached up behind his head scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment, a familiar quirk of his whenever he got nervous.

"Haha, that's what they say."

She rushed forward instantly to stand before him. Startled by suddenness of her action he took a small step back as she stood a scant few inches from his face, an examining eye evident in her stare as she took the entirety of him in. He seemed almost completely the same physically at least. He hadn't grown at all, still standing relatively even with her. His posture was a little better; his hair trimmed sharply, his face cleanly shaven, and seemed a little more…lithe? Or perhaps svelte was the word she was looking for? She couldn't pinpoint it exactly but he filled out his clothes nicely now in comparison to when he'd left.

"I hope I'm not being presumptuous and I know this must be rather…awkward but…you are Urashima Haruka-san yes?"

He'd asked again…She took a step back, and sighed as the permeating melancholy that had seemed to pervade the moment settled in heavily between them. She leveled her gaze with his, a sad smile forcibly tugging her lips up.

"Can I have a hug first Keitaro," she asked quietly. She saw him tense for a moment; the flash of uncertainty that clouded his eyes before returning to normal and a smile, one she was sure that matched her own, slowly appeared as he set the duffel he'd brought down before they finally embraced each other.

It was almost like magic, or something of the sort, as the simple act of hugging the other seemed to align their maligned thoughts and answer their unanswered questions instantly.

"I've missed you Keitaro," Haruka spoke, the warm breath of her voice tickling Keitaro's ear as his smile slowly turned into one of true happiness as he silently answered by holding her a little more firmly.

It was several lasting moments later when they finally eased away from each other, a renewed sense of peace washing over them both as they stood in the aftermath of their connection. Keitaro's smile was still in place as he took his respectful place a pace back as he watched the woman; _aunt, _he amended quickly as he noticed her gaze falter as she spoke.

"So it's true then, what Mom and your mother told me about your…"

"Yes," he cut in as the smile began to recede from his lips as he placed a hand in the jacket he wore, "I've got a," his sentence was cut off as he felt the presence of his aunt come closer before the warm and gentle touch of her finger rested softly on the side of his head…

"My goodness Keitaro," he heard her gasp out as her fingers began to trace the delicate lines of… "What happened to your…"

"I've a letter for you," he turned to face her, the same sad smile that was present before back in place Haruka noted as he didn't move to remove her hands from his face.

"It should explain everything…"

Haruka tentatively took the letter from his hand. Holding the parchment in hand she noticed the neat hand written strokes of her mother's penmanship. She looked back up and for the first time, noticed the presence of another person aside from Keitaro that had entered the shop.

The uniform, form fitted, elegant beauty who seemed to be a slightly older version of the one Aoyama Motoko stood in the entry way as well, her hands graciously folded over her straw woven Kasa stood a respectful distance back from the two of them.

"I'm sorry ma'am, where are my manners," Haruka spoke quickly placing aside the frazzled thoughts of her nephew for now, "can I help you with anything?"

"Oh no please do not mind me," the gentle voice of the woman replied in respectful earnest, as her smile beamed at the emotional Urashima, "please do not allow my presence here to distract the either of you from your reunion. Actually it might be better if I wait outside to give you two some privacy."

"Wait Aoyama-san," Keitaro joined in, "its winter now and night is starting to come early this time of year I, for one, don't mind if you wait in here with us, I have nothing to hide or," he paused for a moment turning his head slightly, "or to be ashamed of if you are here. Haruka-san you don't mind either do you," Keitaro queried as he looked expectantly at his aunt.

Haruka's thoughts may have wanted to say otherwise but the pleading look in his eye…"I get it Keitaro," she sighed as she turned back and headed on towards the kitchen, "I'll put the tea on for you and your lady friend," she smirked as she heard the distinctly Keitaro-ish sound of stuttering denial emanate throughout the shop…

_You're still the same Keitaro…_

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_a/n:_

Ever just have all these great ideas and everything in a story just planned out and then just open a word document and just be like… 'eff this' for a while only to just slowly hack and slash away at the story till its done? Well that's basically how I roll…

Moving on…

This piece was a long time in coming. I had a hard time figuring out just how to play this scene out initially. I know how I wanted to end it and how I want the next chapter to go I just had a hard time getting this part right and I'm still not satisfied with it…blah blah blah.

**-Ark12-**


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